I’m thrilled for you to meet my good friend and colleague Dr. Pedram Shojai in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show. Join me in learning about Pedram’s newest book, The Urban Monk, where we’ll hear about modern hacks to stop time, find success, happiness, and peace!

As I age, I not only want to improve and sustain my health, increasingly I want to connect with those that inspire me and speak the truth, grounded in wisdom.

The essence of life is health. For me, it’s health of the planet, our home, and living and nonliving species, including us. What’s up for grabs though, is how we choose to live. This includes what we put into our mouths – is it fueling us or toxic?

I’ve been investigating how to optimally fuel my body the past year – focussing on a ketogenic diet [high fat, low carbs, moderate protein]. I’ve also done two fasts – one was five days and the other I lasted four. Each day I stab my finger for morning blood, measuring my fasting blood sugar and ketones. I measure my sleep index and body fat as well. I have a goal of 13%, given my 2-year obsession with cycling and having to pedal my body up the steep hills.

Finding the optimal food plan that fuels your body for optimal performance is tricky. Insulin plays a big part as do other hormones. These are influenced greatly by stress as well as sleep. Exercise helps us stabilize as does yoga and meditation. And of course, there’s getting rid of sugar, gluten and …

As a green building guy for the past 25 years, I’ve been amazed that us greenies work on making the planet more sustainable, but forget about the most basic structure to green: our own bodies. I used to call myself a fraud because I’d create LEED Platinum buildings all day long, but didn’t even know what a green life entailed, or if I was living one. But that’s a story for another time.

My good friend and colleague, Kevin Gianni, did something we’d all like to do, at least most of us. He and his wife, Annmarie, took off to travel the world, much of it in a 36-foot motorhome fueled by vegetable oil. They set off with an interesting quest: to discover: What — and how much — should we eat. As Kevin writes in his inspiring and hilarious book about the journey, Kale and Coffee, “I was an addict in search of the purest dope: raw, vegan, organic food… I was headed down a path of self-destruction.”

I’m excited for you to meet Kevin Gianni in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show. Our conversation is funny, honest, informative and inspiring. Kevin is one of the most genuine and authentic of anyone I’ve ever met. And I’m sure you’ll benefit and be humored by him as well.

To your best health!

David
PS: Kevin writes in his book, Kale and Coffee, “The reason we’re so confused about our own health is that the stories we’ve been told are a series of cuts, edits, and rewrites by the media, health gurus, companies, medical doctors, and researchers– in some cases, by total nutcases.”

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Praise For David Gottfried

"Our future depends on sustainability...David Gottfried's pioneering work is proof that we can do it..."

— President Bill Clinton

"I recently heard you speak at Design Green Cincinnati. Your story has given me confidence and patience to stay persistent, knowing that making a difference takes time."

— Shawn Hesse, Leed AP Architecture, Bayer Becker

"Martha Graham, the great dancer and choreographer, once described the creative process as "blessed unrest." The same could be said for David Gottfried. Anyone who knows David can feel the energy. It is a toe-tapping, eye-flashing kinetic that takes on any challenge. What he took on was the building industry and its relationship to living systems. He founded and helped build the most important green trade organization in the world. There is virtually no second place. No organization has had a bigger impact on the environment than this one..."

— Paul Hawken, Author, Ecology of Commerce

"David Gottfried gave one of the most moving and inspirational talks to the Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design in San Francisco and he was a featured speaker with Dan Pink not so very long ago in Toronto. I think you will enjoy him: good sense of humor, relaxed, articulate, passionate, youthful. He has a fresh message."

— James P. Cramer, Chairman & Principal, The Greenway Group

"I enjoyed your presentation. Your honesty about the setbacks and your determination to proceed were both very inspiring."

— Kurt Lavenson, Owner & Principal, Lavenson Design

"Thank you so much for doing the closing keynote for this year's Chapter Forum [at Greenbuild Philadelphia]. You physically and mentally brought the energy level up, and inspired our community like only you can do."

— Margo Street, LEED Green Associate Manager, Community Advancement, U.S. Green Building Council

David is a person who's simply wired differently than most others. His sense of right and wrong is like forged steel. His understanding of a holistic approach to problem solving, creating and human wellness is something special. And his compassion for his fellow humans and those generations yet conceived is a life force about which I stand transfixed in some childlike combination of reverence and awe.

— Rick Fedrizzi

What I love about what you've done is to return people back to a way of thinking that is in sympathy with the world instead of standing on top of the world.

— David Adjaye

I just wanted to drop you a note to say how much I am enjoying your podcasts--really informative and really inspiring!